Illustration by Bruce McCall, published by The New Yorker 1/9/17
This is a genuine question for all future agriculturalists!
Growing things without soil or sunlight: Are the farmers and gardeners who feel uncomfortable by this notion the future purists of agriculture?
If, for the sunburned-purist with soil under their feet, this seems inappropriate; wouldn't it be interesting to get to the bottom of exactly why that is?
Weightless farming, stacked garden beds growing in a warehouse instead of a field; in this new paradigm, are the bent-in-half rural folk a kind of privileged class (receiving the privileges of nature) casting judgement on the metropolis dwellers when we express discomfort with vertical agriculture?
Then the question of quality arises - nutritional quality that is. Veggies divorced from the elements, surely the consumer is missing something, right?
For a thorough behind the scenes look at AeroFarms in Newark, New Jersey and their plans to produce a 1,000 tons of greens annually click HERE